Burning Anger and Small-Minded Men

“It is not that we burn the Koran with some type of vindictive motive,” Mr. Jones said. “We do not even burn it with great pleasure or any pleasure at all. We burn it because we feel a deep obligation to stay with the court system of America. The court system of America does not allow convicted criminals to go free. And that is why we feel obligated to do this.”

The first time the Rev. Terry Jones threatened to burn the Qu’ran–200 copies of it–local and national media alerted the world. An American general weighed in, voicing concerns about the safety of U.S. troops. Cable news networks cycled the story every few hours for several days. Thankfully, the disturbing threat was never carried out. The second time, on March 20, Jones’s Florida church put the Qu’ran on trial and found it guilty of five “crimes against humanity,” including the promotion of terrorist acts and “the death, rape and torture of people worldwide whose only crime is not being of the Islamic faith.”

There was almost no media coverage the second time around. Maybe the locals in Gainesville were not keen on drawing more attention to this strange church, its even stranger leader, and this latest of his very bizarre actions. On the national and international scene, dramatic events like the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and the air bombing of Libya rightly took center stage. Perhaps the most likely reason for the lack of media coverage is that the burning of the Qu’ran on March 20 didn’t have the politically-charged backdrop of Jones’s earlier threat: the controversy over building an Islamic Center near the site of the World Trade Center.

But angry Mullahs in Afghanistan were paying attention and last Friday they urged their followers to avenge the desecration of Islam’s holy book. Thousands overtook the United Nations compound in Mazar-I-Sharif and when the dust settled, at least twelve UN workers were dead, as were five Afghans. Over the weekend additional protests across the country resulted in at least nine more deaths and scores of injuries.

Stupid. Deplorable. Tragic waste. The killings are demoralizing to the vast majority of the world’s Muslims; the trial and “execution” of the Qu’ran embarrasing to most Christians–the kind of behavior that sends not a few fed-up skeptics out the church door and into organizations like atheist clubs where they often experience the honesty, kindness, and good-humored give-and-take missing in many churches.

Terry Jones and the extremist leaders in Afghanistan represent two sides of the same counterfeit coin: small-minded men who make of the one God they worship a petty, tribal deity whose primary character trait is a violent, unpredictable temper. And as this god’s self-appointed spokesmen, their own shared psychology leaves them with a desperate need for attention and adulation. Death and destruction–and the undoing of painstaking progress–follow in the wake of the pathological insecurities of such extremists-for-hate.

Yale theologian, Miroslav Volf, has long advocated for the kind of interaction between Christians and Muslims that does not minimize their important differences. The “fuzzy liberal” approach to interreligious dialogue (as I once heard him describe it) is to assume that differences on, say, the Trinity or loving one’s enemies, can be “scraped away” to reveal an inocuous set of propositions that reasonable people of both traditions can readily affirm.

But as Volf says in his new book, Allah: A Christian Response, Muslims and Christians will be able to live peacefully together only when “the identities of each religious group are respected and given room for free expression.” The corollary of this claim is that peaceableness is possible only when we recognize the “significant overlaps in the ultimate values that orient the lives of people in these communities.”

In positioning themselves as steadfast enemies, Terry Jones and the Afghan Mullahs have demonstrated how alike they are–how they operate from the same set of theological propositions: God is pretty much mad all the time; only they have access into what triggers God’s violent temper; and whatever the wrong committed against this God, somebody’s probably going to get hurt or killed in the righting of it.

It really isn’t “God’s will” they’re after. In Jones’s case it’s not even the conversion of Muslims to Christianity that consumes him. Rather, he wants Muslims to “honor, obey, and submit to the Constitution of the United States.”

A small god. A small-minded disregard for the neighbor that God/Allah gives us to love. A small, isolated problem? Media coverage–or the lack of it–might suggest so. But a look today (on the anniversary of the killing of MLK, Jr.) at the religious, political, and economic landscape and it’s clear that anger-driven small-mindedness is not the exclusive preserve of Afghan Mullahs and Florida’s fundamentalists.

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18 Responses to “Burning Anger and Small-Minded Men”

Hi, I’m just wondering what so many of you find so offensive about the U.S. Constitution? I’m also curious as to what you would say if a radical bible believing United Methodist (yes there are a few) went crazy over the blatant universalism that is running rampant on this website which we fund, and committed an act of violence, would you blame the young pastor from NC, or some of the more liberal Bishops for being small minded on this matter? Also why are we, as a congregation bending over backward to accommodate Muslims when according to a recent poll they are actually smaller in number than Buddhists in this country. Could it have anything to do with the fact that Buddhists aren’t strapping bombs on themselves and blowing up civilians? One more thing I’d like you to consider. Recently The General Board of Church & Society (GBCS) of The United Methodist Church rescinded its endorsement of the “One Nation Working Together” rally in Washington, D.C. stating that The board was disturbed by some of the overtly political and partisan statements issued by organizers of the march. And yet the very next week we saw an article endorsing fasting to protest proposed Congressional budget cuts to welfare programs! We have articles on how we are combating human trafficking which the U.N. says affects 2.5 million people in 127 countries annually. We have articles against the death penalty, which resulted in a whopping 46 executions nationally in 2010 alone!! Our beloved u.m.c.org is conspicuously silent, however, on the 1.37 million babies killed each year in the U.S. alone and 42 million world wide!!! This according to Planned Parenthood’s Family Planning Perspectives. If I didn’t know better I’d say that it’s not overtly partisan politics that you mind as much as overtly conservative politics that you fear. You might recall how small minded Stephen was!

It’s not the U.S. Constitution is offensive. What’s offensive is the assumption that all people of all religions from whatever country they live in with laws and court systems of their own should necessarily feel obliged to use the U.S. court system. I find it difficult to understand that someone who claims to be a Christian will find a non-religious court system to be the most important thing rather than Jesus’ teachings, such as “love one another”.

I’m sorry I feel like such a fool. I thought the guy was protesting the push for Sharia law in Michigan, obviously he was in Dearborn, Saudi Arabia. I’m not defending the wisdom of the actions of the guy in Florida, nor am I condemning it. I’m simply saying that he has every right to protest in this fashion and If you really want to blame someone for Islamic hate toward the U.S. how about the good old U.M.C.? After all our support of a “woman’s right-to-choose, gay rights, and the many other liberal causes we support is precisely the evidence that Muslims hold up when they are recruiting for jihad. As far as what you said about Christ’s teaching on love, you really need to read the entire Bible and not just the catch phrases that suit your argument. 1Corinthians 13, 2Thessalonians 3, Matthew 10,Revelation 20, (I urge everyone to read whole chapters, not bits and pieces of Bible) as well as the rest of the Bible were authored by the same person (see John chapters 1 and 14), and do not contradict one another. Taken in context the Bible is pretty clear if you have eyes to see and ears to hear. The courts of this country, by the way, are religiously founded, though the A.C.L.U. along with support by many so-called Christians, have done their utmost to change that. It’s interesting that liberal so-called Christians always talk about Jesus’ teachings, but either do not know the Bible, or reject much of it out right. The Muslims also turn to Jesus’ teachings to deride folks like Rev. Jones, but if you will read 1John chapter 4 (heck, read the whole letter it’s short) you’ll see that not only is there a different spirit in them, but Jesus told us here that they wouldn’t hear our words. If it seems like I’m asking you to do a lot of studying that’s because I am, there’s a way that seems right to a man… Proverb’s 14:12, 16:25. This whole notion of being Christ-like, the whole wwjd movement is simply a means for human secularism to infiltrate the society in the name of Christianity, if it feels good, and sounds good do it. Before I climb off the electronic soapbox let me add that the spirit of anti-Christ is waxing stronger and stronger. Jehovah’s witnesses, Mormon’s, Muslim’s, and indeed many so-called Evangelical’s deny 1John 3:16,5:7, 4:2-3, John 1, and countless other verses that state plainly that Jesus is God, and he is the only way by which a man can avoid the wrath of God. Their teachings may be partly of Jesus, but they are not fully of Jesus Christ, remember that Satan can appear as an angel of light. (2Corinthians 11:14) Don’t take my, or anybody’s word for it. READ, READ, READ, and read some more (Bible that is), and pray for God to give you wisdom to rightly divide the Word, he promised he would (James 1:5).

Hmmm….there are small minded men. And small minded women. Focusing on a right wing nut job pastor while militant muslims kill 800 people and injure 1000s is an example of being small minded. When in modern history has 1000s been killed, maimed or injured over a Bible being burned? “Small minded” comes in many forms, I’d say.

This is tragic but it has been on the website front and center long enough. The above title should have been used and let us pray for the families of the ones who were killed as a result of this small minded…..man.

This type of thinking is why I am leaving the United Methodist church after being a member for over 25 years. I am tired of the creeping progressive thought. The church leadership rallied behind Obamacare, a horrible bill that will hurt the quality of healthcare in the US, and will affect children disproportionately. They are sticking their noses into government budget issues. A church is a house of God, not a propaganda machine for the democrats. Satan is happy- he has now infiltrated most of the organized Christian denominations in the Western world, so there will be no loud voices in opposition to his own religion, Islam.

Karen, I know exactly how you feel. I have struggled with the idea of leaving the denomination, but on paper this is the best one going. I have resolved to scream and holler until I am heard, or kicked out! Not only is the U.M.C. promoting Obamacare, but we support abortion rights, as well as many other things contrary to God’s Word. If you leave, God bless you, but I suggest that you stay and stand firm on God’s word and be salt and light, THEY NEED IT!!!

It is truly gratifying to see that there are other United Methodists outside of my own congregation that are determined to speak up against the rampant liberalism that so often dominates the officially sponsored denominational statements of our church–even though the UMC as a whole surely has as many traditional/conservative members as it does liberals. While the UMC is far healthier than some of our sister denominations–the Episcopalians come sadly to mind–the evangelical members of our dear church must stand up and be counted when debates like this take center stage. Biblical truth cannot be sacrificed on the altar of humanism. The result cannot be a church that fulfills the calling of our Lord. May God bless the UMC and all its members as we struggle together to find the will of God for us and our place in the world.

Brad, Karen, & everybody else,
It’s very refreshing to read your comments and know that I am not alone in seeing how the left has been taking over “mainstream” denominations & installing more new age “universalist” thought in non-denominational churches as well for quite some time now. The GBCS & UMC Commission on the Status & Role of Women are perfect examples of how liberal/progressive thought through Satan have entered the UMC to distract us from what we ought to be doing, witnessing for Christ by our actions & proclamations.

I will not give up on the UMC and will continue to work on putting it back on track where we zero in on strictly preaching, using the Holy Bible, that Christ died for us, and we are saved by the Lord’s grace alone through faith. When we are saved and let the Holy Ghost guide us, we don’t let unholy ideals pollute our mission.

Don’t leave the church. We can fix it if we take the effort to speak out & act, both locally & nationally. There are plenty more like us out there who disagree with the non-Biblical left-leaning slant we see on umc.org, et al. Pray for guidance.

Don’t get down. WE are the majority in the UMC. Despite the disproportionate amount of “progressives” in the higher ups of the denomination, the average person in the pew holds true to the basics of the faith and is sickened by the godless political activities of the GBCS.

Karen, Sean, Jason, and all Bible Believing Christians who read this, I am greatly encouraged by your words. I’m certain that others are as well. Sometimes, when I need a boost, I read 1Kings 19:1-18. Here we find Elijah having a pity party, and two things stand out. First of all God initially ignores Elijah’s whining and simply gives him more marching orders, but then almost as an after thought he adds verse 18- “…Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal and every mouth which hath not kissed him.” We are not alone. In fact I’ve noticed that most of the blogs, or what ever you call them, are conservative, it’s only the leaders that lean sharply liberal. Like much of the world in these latter days, the masses are ruled by a minority. They only rule as long as the masses remain silent. I will be silent no more. I urge you all to make your voices heard as well. Get involved, I can’t read and answer every comment made on the net, but WE can, and should. I live in North Alabama and Bishop Willimon is my Bishop. While in true Seminary form he managed to be fairly ambiguous in his comments in the recent article entitled Hellfire, brimstone and John Wesley, he sure seems to have a universalist slant. (By the way, Bishop Willimon, I don’t have to have Jesus say it but once for me to believe it!) I immediately read the opening chapter (available through a link in the article) to his book “Who Will Be Saved”, and still don’t know where the man stands. I have the book on order and believe me I’ll hold his feet to the fire if he turns out to be a false teacher! This is what we’ve got to do. Find out where leaders stand (Rev. 2:2) and don’t allow them to be ambiguous! There are things that are debatable, but on the major issues of faith, the first being the reliability of the Word of God, we must stand firm! William Barclay is another who’s writings are en vogue at the moment among the leadership. Barclay was a heretic, undermining the Holy Word and laying the foundations for the debates we are now having. I am not very tech. savvy, and it was a great struggle to learn how to do this “blogging”, but I implore you all, to speak out! “…Reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine!”

It’s important to note that Jones is not anything close to the mainstream religious right (or mainstream anything, for that matter). Indeed many conservative Christian leaders implored him to relent. The fact that he has any notoriety at all is very unfortunate, because he is truly a fringe figure – not representative of any significant group. On the one hand, it is important to condemn something like book burning (the intellectual equivalent of shouting someone down instead of listening to their position). But Jones is much too easy a punching bag for serious Christians; and ultimately the most appropriate thing to do is ignore him.

As with many who have posted – how many times did the Holy Spirit through Paul admonish/warm the curch about watering down the Gospel? I also seem to remember a warning about removing one jot or tittle. Hmmm… Anyway, I find particularly offensive the use of “God/Allah” as though muslims are some form of new Christian, sharing the belief in Christ, just in a new way. Allah and the God of the Bible are NOT the same. Christianity in its core faith in the saving blood of Jesus is in no way compatitble with the heresy of the Koran. I encourage you to please spend more time with your Bible and do NOT listen to the false teachers expressing what the world’s itching ears want to hear.

Do please tell me Ms Murphy when exactly did burning a book become worse than murdering people? I fail to see how you can compare these as if they are apples to apples. GCBS is leading the charge to hell. UMC members must stand up and say enough is enough. I agree with Donnie, we are the majority; we just need to act like it!

Between a previous movement to allow God to be referred to in the Lord’s Prayer as “our Father in Heaven”, or “our mother in Heaven”, the movement to ordain homosexuals (I guess no one read what the Bible says about homosexuality), a movement toward “Palestine” and away from Israel (read Revelation), allowing for more “new age” philosophy, and preachers who have personally belittled me over my firm stand on Bible teachings on these issues, I am prepared to shake the dust off my feet with the UMC. I stopped attending for a long time with the “mother in heaven” and gay ordination issues, but came back, because my family’s rural Methodist church is the closest one to me. Still, as conservative as the people of this region are, we have had to put up with watering down of Scripture to just “God is Love” sermons and “do not judge” sermons. I have had my faith countered by some UMC clergy because I proudly served in the US military, and because I carried weapons and was prepared to kill as a police officer. My FIVE GENERATIONS of family who were Methodist preachers in Texas are likely spinning in their graves over what the UMC has become. As one female pastor said, “I’m glad your beliefs do not fall into the mainstream of Methodism.” My response to her was, “If the main stream is flowing toward a waterfall, it’s time for me to start paddling against the current.” Depending on what I find out about the UMC’s stand on Israel giving up more land to people who openly claim that their mission is to wipe out all Jews, I will call it the last straw and publicly declare my separation of any ties to the UMC, despite the fact that seven generations from both sides of my family have been members of that tiny church.